ReHacked #28: longread about covid19 inception, some interesting culture news and more
Hello, everyone! Today on the table is longread about Covid inception 2 years before the outbreak, Swan lake on ice, some programming/software news and pro memoria to the inventor of the cassette tape.
Enjoy!
Diplomats Warned of a Coronavirus Danger in Wuhan—2 Years Before the Outbreak #politics #world #longread
On January 15, in its last days, President Donald Trump’s State Department put out a statement with serious claims about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. The statement said the U.S. intelligence community had evidence that several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) laboratory were sick with Covid-like symptoms in autumn 2019—implying the Chinese government had hidden crucial information about the outbreak for months—and that the WIV lab, despite “presenting itself as a civilian institution,” was conducting secret research projects with the Chinese military. The State Department alleged a Chinese government cover-up and asserted that “Beijing continues today to withhold vital information that scientists need to protect the world from this deadly virus, and the next one.”
What happens when you try to measure programmers productivity by counting lines of code written: -2000 Lines Of Code #fun #history
The ballerina dancing on ice for a real ‘swan lake’ #culture #fun
A Russian ballerina from the world-renowned Mariinsky Theatre dressed in full costume performs scenes from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake… not on stage though, but on the frozen Gulf of Finland.
Shops return to rural Sweden but are now staff-free #economy
Dark clouds loom over the pine forest surrounding Hummelsta, a town of 1,000 people that hasn't had any local shops for a decade.
Since December, a red wooden container, about the size of a mobile home, has offered a lifeline. It's a mini supermarket that locals can access round-the-clock.
UK businesses caught buying five-star Google reviews #economy #internet
Google is failing to do enough to combat fake reviews within its business listings, and must be held to account by a UK watchdog, according to Which?
The consumer group set up a fake company and bought bogus five-star reviews as part of an investigation.
In doing so, it was able to tie its sham "customers" to dozens of other highly-rated British firms, including a dentist and a stockbroker.
Inventor of cassette tape Lou Ottens passed away #technology #culture
In the 1960s, Lou Ottens, then head of product development at the Belgian Hasselt branch of the Eindhoven company Philips, developed the cassette tape. In previous years, Ottens was annoyed with green and yellow tape recorders with the large reels and felt that something more user-friendly and especially something smaller should be replaced.
'Right to repair' law to come in this summer #economy #technology
Appliances such as fridges, washing machines and TVs should last longer and be cheaper to run under new rules.
Ministers have confirmed that from the summer consumers will have a right to repair on goods they buy.
They are keeping a promise to implement EU rules aimed at cutting energy and bills – and reducing the need for new materials.
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Dainius
